


Hey Molly

by conceptstage



Series: Single Chapter Critical Role [7]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Mollymauk Lives Fest, Resurrection, day five prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-06-27 01:00:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19780000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conceptstage/pseuds/conceptstage
Summary: For Mollymauk Lives Fest 2019 Day Five: Resurrection





	Hey Molly

The diamonds are heavy when they carry them in. Five years of scrimping and saving, of taking dangerous jobs because they paid so damn well, of taking low paying jobs just to make something instead of sitting around the Xorhaus moping, and it had all come to this. The table was draped with several blankets and pillows as they poured the diamonds out of the bags and into the center, spreading them out in a single layer. Jester was bouncing on the tips of her toes, biting her lip nervously. “Do you think we have enough?” she asked. Her hair had grown out in the last several years, though she had pulled all of it up into a high bun on the back of her head to keep it out of her way for this. There was a single strand of curled blue hair that dangled near her nose and she blew it away.

Her style had matured over the years, though her dress this day was still pink. It was less frilly and puffy and hung to the middle of her thighs. She’d ditched the corset and her old, green, short cloak but the Traveler still had a prominent place on the sash around her hips.

Caduceus was standing next to her with a large, kind hand on her shoulder. It had been a while since he’d come to visit them. The Grove was doing well now but Shady Creek was always a threat to the Wildmother’s expanding reach and influence in the area so he preferred not to leave Nila and her tribe alone there more than a few times a year, though he made a special trip out when they sent him a letter saying that they had finally acquired enough money. His hair was so long now it reached his still thin hips and was beautifully braided over his shoulder. He still wore the same armor but there were dents and cuts on it that told the story of his adventures. When he had left with them the very first time, the carapace had been spotless.

“I’m not the best at math, but Caleb has assured me that he has done the calculations. It will be enough.”

Fjord carried in the next bag and dumped it over onto the table, using his scarred, calloused hands to spread them out. He gave Jester a playful smile. “I’m surprised Veth hasn’t nicked any of it yet.” His real accent sounded smooth and Jester still felt a little thrill when she heard it, even after so long. His undercut had grown out to match the rest of his hair and there was only a bit more black than gray in it anymore. His usual armor had been put aside for today and he was wearing a loose gray tunic and black pants. The amulet around his neck had the Wildmother’s symbol carved into it, handmade by Caduceus for the Wildmother’s champion.

Veth kicked him in the back of the knee. Her dark brown hair was trimmed short with a shiny blue sapphire comb pushed through it. The comb had been a gift from Caleb after she’d been changed back into a halfling almost a year ago. She was wearing a handmade dress decorated with buttons and embroidery. Jester had helped her design it but she had sewn it all herself. “Dick!” she said, her three month old daughter in one arm and a small bag of diamonds in the other.

Fjord chuckled. “When Jessie’s first word is ‘Dick’ I’m gonna laugh so fucking hard.”

“So the fuck will I, what makes you so goddamn special?” Luc and Yeza were standing off to the side, leaning against each other and watching the scene with interest but not wanting to intrude on what was clearly a Mighty Nein moment. Veth handed off Jessie to Fjord so that she could climb up the step stool to dump the gems. 

Fjord grinned at the baby and held her close, letting her hold onto his finger. “Hey there, little baby. Are you excited to meet-” he paused. “What will she call him? I’m Uncle Fjord, she’s Auntie Jester…”

Veth shrugged and held her arms out to take her child back. “He can pick. I get the feeling he’s not gonna like Uncle or Auntie. Those are too standard, he’ll want something more dramatic.”

They both looked up with Yasha stepped in the door of the war room, three bags of diamonds in her fists. Veth gave her a small smile and hurried over to stand beside her husband and clear the way. Fjord stepped around the table to stand beside Jester, gently pulling her close and kissing her hair. She looked up at him with a smile.

Yasha hesitated in the doorway, then stepped fully inside. “Beau has the last bag,” she said, sitting down two of the bags on the ground beside the table and dumping them out one by one. Her hair was fully black now, still braided in some places but mostly still loose around her shoulders. There was a scar, almost three years old now, across her left eye, leaving it milky white and difficult to see through. 

When she had dumped out the last bag, Beau stepped into the doorway, a single bag tossed over her shoulder. “This it?” She asked, meeting everyone’s eyes one by one. She still routinely shaved her undercut but had grown out the hair on top of her head and it was braided down her back. Jester said it made her look like a storybook heroine. She didn’t wear blue anymore, not since the falling out with the Cobalt Soul and Dairon. She wore a dark green crop top and tan harem pants with jade on her wrists and neck and a gold ring in her nose.

Fjord nodded. “Caleb said there were ten bags, that’s nine empty bags over there. I think we’re ready once you pour out yours.”

She nodded and stepped towards the table, dumping out the last bag of diamonds. Veth and Yeza exchanged a silent glance and he nodded, kissing her cheek and taking their daughter. He lead Luc out of the room but the boy paused to kiss his mother’s cheek as well. She smiled, her eyes a little wet and whispered to him that she would see him at dinner.

After they left and Beau finished dumping her diamonds, Caleb stepped into the room. He paused in the doorway and took a deep breath, looking over the table and doing some math in his head. He nodded, confident that they had enough. His red-brown hair was about shoulder length and tied back at the nape of his neck. He was wearing a nice shirt and a leather vest. His pants were pressed and his shoes were shined. He only broke out this outfit on special occasions. None of them had seen it since Luc’s last birthday party. He had a silk scarf around his neck to half hide the slowly fading burn scar that crawled up his neck from under his shirt and ended just under his ear and behind the back of his jaw.

“You look very nice, Caleb,” Jester said, smiling kindly. 

“You look fucking uncomfortable,” Beau said, smirking. “You sure you want him to wake up and think you still have that giant stick up your ass after all these years?”

Caleb flipped her off. He had become very free with that over the last several years. She secretly considered it a bonding moment every time. When he came up to the table she put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. He sighed and laid his hand over hers to comfort her back. They had both been waiting for this moment since they’d seen their friend murdered five years ago. Everyone started forming a circle around the table, looking down at the pile of diamonds. Beau reached out to put a hand on Yasha’s arm. Her expression was stoic, but they knew her well enough to see how nervous and excited she was.

“Ready?” Fjord asked.

“As we will ever be,” muttered Caleb.

Beau grinned. “Let’s get the fucking show on the road.”

Caduceus held his hands out over the table. He closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath and, suddenly, the diamonds shattered. They started floating around in the air above the table like a collection of stars, glittering in the moonlight that shone in the Rosohna sky outside the window.

After a few more seconds of quiet muttering, the diamonds started to coalesce in the shape of a body. There was a pop and the diamonds disappeared, leaving a tattooed purple body on the table in their place. At first, no one breathed. No one shifted, no one spoke.

Then, red tiefling eyes blinked open and looked around at them in confusion, then recognition. He grinned tiredly with pointed teeth and the entire room let out the breath it’d been holding.

“Hey, Molly.”


End file.
